15/08/2026
🌊🇫🇷 ROAD TO FRANCE # 6 - CLOE VERCOUTERE 🇵🇫 - 2025 POLYNESIA WOMEN’S OPEN CHAMPION 🧜🏻♀️
The Road to France continues, and this time we head to Polynesia! 🌺🌊.
Meet Cloe Vercoutere, whose Polynesian campaign earned her a place at the 2026 IBSA Bodysurfing World Tour Finals in Anglet, France.
For Cloe, this result was as unexpected as it was special. Bodysurfing is not a discipline she practices regularly. She first discovered it while working as an ocean lifeguard on the beaches of Lacanau, on the French Atlantic coast.
She entered the regional competition with one simple goal: to enjoy herself as much as possible.
And then, as she says, the magic happened. ✨
💬 “This victory was a huge surprise for me. I don’t practice bodysurfing regularly. I entered with the goal of having as much fun as possible — and the magic happened.”
🧱 A victory built step by step
There wasn’t just one decisive moment. For Cloe, the victory was built “brick by brick”: concentration, observing the waves, warming up and gradually entering her own bubble.
Then everything came together in the water.
💬 “Once I was in the ocean, it felt as though it opened up to me. I was in the right place at the right time. From my very first wave, I was able to express myself, and that immediately gave me confidence.”
🌊 Still developing her own style
Cloe doesn’t yet define herself through a particular bodysurfing style. Her approach is instinctive: read the wave and make the most of every section it offers.
Her physical background undoubtedly plays an important role. Alongside her experience as a lifeguard, Cloe has practiced synchronized swimming since childhood, developing the aquatic awareness, physical conditioning and body control that she now brings into the waves.
💬 “I wouldn’t say I have a clearly defined style yet. For now, I try to make the best possible use of every section of the wave.”
🇫🇷 Anglet: pleasure first
As she looks ahead to the World Finals, Cloe isn’t focused on her opponents or putting herself under additional competitive pressure.
Her priority remains exactly what brought her this far: enjoying the ocean, sharing waves and being part of the bodysurfing community.
💬 “100% enjoyment! I don’t focus on my opponents. The atmosphere is so warm that I see the heats more as a shared experience than as competition itself. I’m happy to be part of this community and to help promote our sport to as many people as possible.”
From discovering bodysurfing as a lifeguard in Lacanau, to competing in Polynesia, and now heading to the World Finals in Anglet, Cloe’s journey captures something essential about bodysurfing: the pleasure of riding waves, sharing the ocean and letting the unexpected happen.
👏 Congratulations, Cloe Vercoutere!
We look forward to welcoming you to Anglet, France, from September 26 to October 5, 2026, alongside the world’s best bodysurfers.
🇫🇷 Road to France continues… Stay tuned as we introduce more athletes on their journey to the 2026 IBSA Bodysurfing World Tour Finals.
